Who Is Montresor Clever

“The Cask of Amontillado” is a classic story in the usual style of its writer Edgar Allan Poe: dark, mysterious, and frightening. It follows the narrator, Montresor, as he manipulates, imprisons, and murders a man named Fortunato as retribution for some sort of insult. Not much plot is revealed in this story—we do not even know what the insult was that prompted this murder—but we do get an in-depth look at the character of Montresor from his own point of view. Montresor is a complicated man; he is both cruel and unreliable, but also smart enough to carry out his devious plan. As a character, Montresor reveals his personality to be perceptive, clever, vain, and heartless. Once of the first things we notice about Montresor is that he is very

It is obvious that he plotted out every move in advance, and has everything he needs on hand to complete the murder. He also knows exactly how to manipulate Fortunato, by playing on his pride as a connoisseur. He keeps mentioning another man, Luchresi, in an offhand manner: “As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchresi. If any one has a critical turn it is he” (paragraph 13). Though it seems casual, Montresor knows this is exactly the way to get to Fortunato. A less intelligent man could never have carried out this crime so

He is clearly proud of his plan, as well as of his wealth and estate, and he keeps using Latin phrases to highlight his own intelligence. Even more so, he is proud of the Montresor line, calling it “a great and numerous family” (paragraph 45). And of course, his massive pride is also made clear by the act of murder he carries out. He is so vain that he thinks the correct response to being insulted is to kill the one who wounded his pride. By carrying out this murder with no apparent qualms or remorse, Montresor also shows himself to be heartless and cruel. He leads Fortunato straight down to his death and never hesitates or seems to empathize at all with his victim. The way he describes his crime is clinical and emotionless, and he comes across as an unfeeling psychopath. Even years later he is proud of what he has done: “For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them. In pace requiescat!” (paragraph 89). Even fifty years later, Montresor appears not to care at all that he killed a man only for insulting his